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Salvator Mundi, a painting of Christ attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, sold at Christie's in New York on 15 November 2017 for $450.3 million, the highest price ever paid for a painting at auction. Twelve years earlier, heavily overpainted and thought to be a copy, it had sold for $1,175.

Christie's, New York, 2017

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The story behind the card

Salvator Mundi is Latin for “Saviour of the World”. Two art dealers bought the dark, damaged panel at a New Orleans auction in 2005 and had it restored by Dianne Dwyer Modestini, who became convinced it was Leonardo's work. London's National Gallery exhibited it as a Leonardo in 2011, and in 2013 it changed hands twice, finally for $127.5 million. Experts still disagree about it. Some accept it as Leonardo's, others believe his assistants and pupils painted much of it, and others argue that the heavy restoration makes a firm verdict impossible. The buyer in 2017 was a Saudi prince, reported to be acting for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The painting has not been shown in public since the sale and is reported to be in storage in Saudi Arabia.

Türkçe oku
Salvator Mundi, Leonardo da Vinci'ye atfedilen bir İsa tablosudur. 15 Kasım 2017'de New York'ta Christie's müzayedesinde 450,3 milyon dolara satıldı; bu, açık artırmada bir tabloya bugüne dek ödenen en yüksek fiyattır. On iki yıl önce, üstü kalın boyayla örtülü ve kopya sanılan tablo 1.175 dolara el değiştirmişti.
Christie's, New York, 2017

Salvator Mundi, Latincede “Dünyanın Kurtarıcısı” demektir. İki sanat taciri, kararmış ve hasar görmüş bu ahşap tabloyu 2005'te New Orleans'taki bir müzayededen aldı ve restorasyonunu Dianne Dwyer Modestini'ye yaptırdı. Modestini, çalışırken tablonun Leonardo'nun elinden çıktığına ikna oldu. Londra'daki National Gallery 2011'de eseri Leonardo tablosu olarak sergiledi; 2013'te tablo iki kez el değiştirdi ve sonunda 127,5 milyon dolara satıldı. Uzmanlar hâlâ anlaşamıyor. Kimileri eseri Leonardo'nun kabul ediyor, kimileri büyük bölümünü onun yardımcılarının ve öğrencilerinin yaptığını düşünüyor, kimileri de kapsamlı restorasyon yüzünden kesin bir karar verilemeyeceğini söylüyor. 2017'deki alıcı bir Suudi prensti; haberlere göre Veliaht Prens Muhammed bin Selman adına hareket ediyordu. Tablo satıştan bu yana hiç sergilenmedi; Suudi Arabistan'da bir depoda tutulduğu bildiriliyor.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Salvator Mundi (Leonardo)
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